It’s that time of year again. It’s still cool enough for me to leave the windows open and get a cool cross breeze in my living room while I curl up with a book waiting for the sun to go down or for the thunder and rain to stop. And I have so many books on this summer’s list that I’m not quite sure how I will get through them all! I love how books can take me back to the time and place where I read them – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in a cafe in Israel over coffee and shakshuka; The Kite Runner cover to cover in 36 hours on a chaise in Maui; Memoirs of a Geisha by candlelight in a grass covered hut in Colombia. . .

This summer’s travels will take me to Napa, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Greece, Martha’s Vineyard and Newport. Here is what will be traveling with me on my iPad.

1. I finished reading Wolf Hall and decided to jump right into Hilary Mantel’s follow up, Bring up The Bodies. I never tire of reading about the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn and the chaos one woman can create.

2. I picked up a hard copy of The 4- Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss and I’ve been scribbling in the margins and taking copious notes (I am quite sure this is NOT recommended) about how to simplify and run a more efficient life operation. It took me so long to pick this book up I know, but after a friend shared some of Ferriss’ tips for streamlining I was intrigued. Thus far I haven’t been disappointed.

3. I spent 13 years in South Florida including a stint in Key West where I was crowned Miss Old Island Days and got to bless the shrimp fleet. So naturally I’m a big fan of Carl Hiaasen and I can’t wait to see what hi-jinks he has in store with Bad Monkey.

4. I’ve been slightly obsessed with food, juicing and cleanses and I’ve got Alejandro Junger’s Clean in rotation. Alejandro used to live next door to me in Venice Beach and I would watch him walk barefoot to Abbot Kinney and wonder what the hell he was thinking. Connecting his feet with the energy of the earth, no doubt. There may be a 21 day cleanse in my future.

5. The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love is new on my downloads since I went all Green Acres, joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and spent some time on a friend’s farm planting potatoes. I’m looking forward to reading about one couple’s transition from city dwellers to farming to support their entire community.

6. I’ve always been a creature of habit and these past years I’ve purposely tried to shake things up, thinking change is good for my brain. I’m interested to see what The Power of Habit has to say on the matter.

7. Crazy Rich Asians. Enough said.

8. O.k., Lean In should have been a spring break read but truthfully I wasn’t sure I wanted to read it. We’ll see.

9. I never saw the movie with Elizabeth Taylor and otherwise know nothing about this woman with the great eye make-up. Should be a fascinating read. . . Cleopatra: A Life.